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What Does Epic Games Hope to Gain From Its Lawsuit Against Apple and Google?

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In what could possibly be described as a brilliant antitrust set-up, Epic Games is suing Apple and Google for removing its Fortnite game from the iOS App Store and Google Play store, respectively.
In what could possibly be described as a brilliant antitrust set-up, Epic Games is suing Apple and Google for removing its Fortnite game from the iOS App Store and Google Play store, respectively. While Epic’s lawsuits are nothing more than complaints until the matter actually goes to court and a ruling is handed down, it’s clear that this was an orchestrated move against Apple, specifically—from the very public announcement that Epic Games was adding a direct payment to its iOS and Android apps to the legal complaint it quickly released after Apple and Google removed the apps from their stores, not to mention the Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite video Epic had prepared to rake Apple over the coals for its App Store practices. (Epic didn’t create a similarly satirical video to slap Google, which indicates this strategy was aimed at Apple primarily.) Legal papers and meticulously animated videos are not things that can be created quickly. Epic knew this was coming. But now that Apple and Google have fallen for Epic’s trap, what happens next? Here’s what’s currently at stake for the two companies: According to statistics provided to Gizmodo from Sensor Tower, Fortnite saw approximately 2.4 million downloads in the last 30 days on iOS and generated $43.4 million in consumer spending on App Store globally. By contrast, there were 2.1 million installs from Google Play, but the game only generated $3.4 million. Up until Apple and Google booted Fortnite from their stores, the companies were receiving a 30% cut of the game’s revenue, which amounted to slightly more than $13 million for Apple and $1 million for Google in a 30-day span from just one app. The rest went to Epic Games. Does any company really care about the money here? I’m sure they do, but that doesn’t seem to be the main issue at the moment. An Apple spokesperson provided Gizmodo with the following statement: Epic isn’t exactly pushing for a special arrangement, though Apple is spinning it that way. While it’s definitely in Epic’s financial interests to not have to hand over a 30% commission on every Fortnite purchase, Epic seems to be pushing for Apple to change its App Store policies overall, which would benefit all developers and not just Epic itself. Epic Games has long pushed for fair treatment of developers, which is reflected in its own business practices. Unreal Engine, Epic’s game and media development tool, is free for anyone to use, and Epic only takes a 5% cut if the lifetime gross revenues of a game or other interactive product created with Unreal Engine exceeds $1,000,000. Additionally, Epic takes a 12% cut from games that are published on its digital store, and if a game is built using Unreal Engine, Epic will cover royalties on Epic Games store revenue. CEO Tim Sweeney has also been a vocal opponent of Apple’s App Store policies for a while. In an updated FAQ regarding Apple’s decision to remove Fortnite from the App Store, Epic Games said: A Congressional investigation by the House of Representatives’ antitrust subcommittee revealed that Apple made a special deal with Amazon to take less of a commission from Prime Video purchases the first year it was on the App Store: 15% percent instead of the usual 30%. That’s proof Apple is willing to make deals to smooth some feathers, but it will choose which companies it wants to make deals with.

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